Phased array antenna

Abstract

Embodiments provide a phased array antenna including a feed structure adapted to guide an electromagnetic wave, a plurality of controllable elements coupled to the feed structure and a plurality of radiating elements, wherein each of the radiating elements is coupled to at least two of the plurality of controllable elements.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority from European Patent Application No. 14188667.1, which was filed on Oct. 13, 2014, and is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Embodiments relate to a phased array antenna. Further embodiments relate to a method for operating a phased array antenna. Some embodiments relate to a phased array with dedicated radiating elements.[0003]To receive communication signals from or to transmit communication signals to a satellite, antennas with significant effective gain and directivity are necessitated. Effective gain (e.g. compared to a 0 dB omni-directional antenna) is needed to compensate for the propagation losses through free space and the atmosphere. Directivity (pointing) is necessitated to discriminate the wanted signal from other signals received or transmitted on the same frequency but from / to different orbital locations.[0004]Besides satellite communications, th...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a solution for improving the placement and control of radiating elements in a wireless network. By connecting each radiating element to multiple controllable elements, the original problem of finding suitable settings for each element at the location of the radiating element is transformed into finding suitable settings for each group of controllable elements connected to the radiating element. This provides flexibility in the placement of the radiating elements and results in improved efficiency and control over the wireless network.

Problems solved by technology

Besides satellite communications, the same technical problems exist also for many other communication systems, e.g. terrestrial, space or airborne, where in general high antenna gain improves the signal to noise ratio, while antenna directivity in the direction of propagation helps to mitigate (isolate from) eventually interfering signals from other sources.

However, due to their relatively high price (manufacturing costs, number and quality of components) and power consumption their application is limited to niche markets and applications, e.g. tracking receivers, military applications.

Feeding each of these radiating elements along the row with an identical, but phase shifted signal results in additive and destructive addition of the radiated waves.

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